What's Up Docs?

Chris and Xand continue their conversation about AI medicine with Dr Emma Karoune.
The docs explore how AI has been used in cutting edge medical research, such as to create digital models of the heart to enable instant alerts to a doctor. They want to know about AI for pattern recognition and how this can be used in determining changes in scans or predicting pandemic. They also want to know more about how ambient AI can be useful to doctors and how data science enables the development of AI technologies.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Dr Emma Karoune
Producer: Rami Tzabar
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
Assistant Producer: Mili Ostojic
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Visual Producer: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Olga Reed
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
Can AI empower better self-care and clinical practice, or is it just more health noise? Most of us have fallen down a search engine rabbit hole only to emerge more confused about our symptoms than when we started. But as we enter the era of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, the landscape of medical information is shifting.
In this episode, Chris and Xand van Tulleken debate whether these AI chatbots, with their vast medical knowledge and surprisingly good "bedside manner", are a breakthrough for patient clarity or a new frontier for misinformation. From asking a chatbot about a "creaky knee" to AI’s burgeoning role in analysing scans, the twins explore a technology that is already transforming GP surgeries and laboratories alike.
While there is plenty to be cautiously excited about, big questions remain. Can we truly trust AI-generated advice? When is it helpful, and when is it dangerous?
To help navigate this rapidly evolving space, Chris and Xand are joined by Dr Emma Karoune, Principal Investigator of the Clinical AI Interest Group and Advancing Biomedical Data Science Careers project at The Alan Turing Institute. Together, they break down what patients and practitioners need to look out for in the age of AI medicine.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Dr Emma Karoune
Producer: Rami Tzabar
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
Assistant Producer: Mili Ostojic
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Visual Producer: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Olga Reed
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

In this extended episode of What's Up Docs?, Chris and Xand van Tulleken continue their conversation with Professor Robin Condliffe.
Together, they explore how our understanding of the lungs has evolved over time, from early theories about breathing to the breakthroughs that transformed modern respiratory medicine.
They also examine why lung health is shaped by more than biology alone. From air pollution and housing quality to poverty and access to healthcare, they discuss the social and environmental factors that continue to influence who develops lung disease and who receives treatment.
Recording at Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield, they reflect on the city's industrial heritage and the lessons it offers for modern public health. They also ask what has changed in respiratory medicine during Robin's career, and how his work has influenced the way he thinks about his own health and wellbeing.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Professor Robin Condliffe
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Researcher: Grace Revill
Production Manager: Lisa Lipman
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.

Welcome to What's Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, recorded live at Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield, they are joined by Professor Robin Condliffe, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Together, they explore the extraordinary science of the lungs: how they work, how they keep us alive, and what happens when they start to go wrong. From asthma, COPD and lung cancer to air pollution, smoking and respiratory infections, they discuss some of the biggest challenges facing lung health today.
Along the way, they examine the links between lung health, deprivation and the environment, reflect on Sheffield's industrial heritage, and explore the latest advances in respiratory medicine. Finally, they ask what we can all do to keep our lungs healthier for longer.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Professor Robin Condliffe
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Researcher: Grace Revill
Production Manager: Lisa Lipman
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

Chris and Xand van Tulleken take a deeper dive into heart palpitations and the rise of wearable technology.
With devices like smartwatches now able to detect irregular heart rhythms, more people are being alerted to potential problems, often without any symptoms. But is this early detection saving lives, or creating new challenges?
Joined again by Consultant Cardiologist Dr Pranev Sharma, the docs explore how wearables actually work, how accurate they are, and what happens when they flag something abnormal. They unpack the balance between prevention and overdiagnosis, and ask whether we risk medicalising normal bodily sensations. They also look at how decisions are made about treatment, and whether these decisions are changing as more cases are detected through technology.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Dr Pranev Sharma
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Kirsten Lass
Researcher: Grace Revill
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Visual Producer : Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Olga Reed
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.